[Nfb-krafters-korner] OT: Speaking of Computers

Eleni Vamvakari magkisa83 at gmail.com
Wed Jul 21 03:17:11 UTC 2010


Hi there,

  I really hope that I don't get in trouble for posting such a lengthy
off-topic post here.  If it's inappropriate, please let me know, feel
free to delete it and I'll continue the conversation offlist.  But I
thought others would be wondering the same thing and might benefit
from the answer if they're looking for a cheap and easy-to-use (with
some patience and learning) system or if they too enjoyed using DOS
and mistakenly believed that it was dead.  When I gave my specs to the
company, they said that it's definitely doable but that it might be
difficult to find some of the parts, unless I was willing to go with
older ones.  This isn't a problem for me, as I'd be beyond surprised
if such parts were brand new, so I told them to proceed.  Fortunately,
they also said that they may have some on hand, and know other vendors
who could help, so it's not entirely hopeless.

  I wrote this in response to a personal e-mail sent to me last night
and then posted it to the tech groups.  Many people throughout my life
have asked me why I love DOS so much.  Not being a truly technical
person, I could only give a few reasons from my limited experience.  I
love old tech in general, and avoid touch screens on things that work
perfectly fine with dials, switches and real buttons.  But that's not
the only reason why I love DOS. It's a fast, efficient, stable,
keyboard-friendly system which doesn't require alot of power, hard
drive space, ram, speed or money passed the initial cost of a
synthesizer, a screen reader if you get VocalEyes (sold but no longer
supported), since all others are now free.  Even the machine itself is
cheap, since you don't need a top of the line computer to run this os.
 Of course, if you choose to get scanning software and a braille
embosser, that will add money to the overall cost, but even those can
be bought at a good price if you're lucky enough to find them.  Most
of the mainstream software is also freeware, shareware or very cheap.
The newer versions of the operating system, like FreeDOS and Enhanced
DR-DOS, are open source, meaning that you can tweek them to meet your
needs if you have the technical knowhow. They're also updating the
various versions to be compatible with modern hardware and formats so
you're not limited to using only older technology.  Enhanced DR-DOS
was just updated last year and has it's own built-in multitasker,
available since the old DR-DOS days, which, if it works with a screen
reader, means that you're not stuck using only one program at a time.
As for me personally, I like programs that use the tui (text user
interface) and the command line or that have nice hotkeys and/or menus
built in and that don't have tons of graphics, most of which are
unnecessary or which complicate things without reason.

  For the longest time, that was as far as I could go with my answer.
But after 14 years, I've found the page that explains more than I ever
could about why DOS is still a viable option today and why it
shouldn't be tossed aside.  At the below link, you'll find 37
fallacies about DOS and why they're all wrong.  Some are common
misconceptions and some even surprised me.  It's a bit long but
definitely worth reading, especially if you know alot about operating
systems and/or are looking for an alternative one that will keep you
on budget and won't give you a headache.

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/DOS/DOS-Fal.html

  Many have said that software and resources are no longer available
for DOS.  If they mean ones for adaptive technology, then sadly,
they're right.  But there's alot out there for the mainstream.

http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a0503736/php/drdoswiki/index.php

and

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/DOS/DOS-Head.html

(especially the second one) are both gold minds of material and have
just about everything you could ever want, from links to other
websites, including ones with different varieties of DOS, to programs,
to tutorials and books on using the os, various programs and even
programming itself, to tips and even a little humour.  The only things
they doen't have, as I've said, are reviews and tips on using software
from the blind point of view and information on finding and using
adaptive technology.

Talk soon,
Eleni

On 7/20/10, slery <slerythema at insightbb.com> wrote:
>
> Really curious, why are you using DOS?
>
> I just built two computers in February and some of this ancient access that
> you are asking for is going to be next to impossible to find. I just double
> checked one of the main sources that people use for hardware that build
> their own and:
>
> no 5.25 floppy drive of any kind
> the smallest hard drive is 18GB
> the slowest cpu is 1.5Ghz (and trying to match up cpu socket type with a
> motherboard that has a serial port, parallel port, and ps2 port is really
> difficult)
> 128MB RAM is the smallest (again, this must match the motherboard)
>
> What did they tell you when you requested all of these specifications?
>
> Cindy S.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> Eleni Vamvakari
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 3:54 PM
>> To: List for blind crafters and artists
>> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] OT: Speaking of Computers
>>
>>
>> Hello to everyone,
>>
>>   I never thought I'd be posting a computer-related topic on
>> here but here goes.  I'll try to put everything in one place
>> so that we don't have many off-topic posts and I promise not
>> to make this a habit.  Of course, feel free to e-mail me
>> offlist if you think doing so on here will cause a problem
>> and I'll simply let everyone know when something's been resolved.
>>
>>   I'm currently having a machine made by JG Custom PCs.
>> However, they haven't started yet and are still looking for
>> parts.  These are the specifications that I sent to them.  If
>> you have a machine that meets a good number of these specs
>> and are willing to sell it, could you please let me know?
>> The 5.25 floppy, cd rom, scsi slot, ethernet jack and usb
>> port are not necessary if it's a laptop.  I'd also like
>> something under 7 lbs. if possible and with less than a 14.1
>> screen (smaller is better).  The same exceptions apply for a
>> desktop (minus the weight and screen of course) with the
>> addition of the pcmcia slot not being necessary, since most
>> desktops don't have those.  Still, having both floppies would
>> be nice.  The only catch is that the computer needs to have
>> drivers for MS-DOS because I can then use them with the
>> modern version of the operating system that I'll be installing.
>>
>>   I'm also looking for hardware and software for DOS-based
>> machines, such as an ocr program (and scanner), a braille
>> translation program, a wordprocessor (Word Perfect and
>> Ed.exe, their text editor, is acting strangely with
>> VocalEyes), a synthesizer (especially a KeyNote Gold SA,
>> Dectalk Express or PC or an Apollo capable of reading Greek)
>> and whatever else comes to mind.  I have a Braille Blazer, a
>> KeyNote Gold Voicecard (worried about it's fragility), two
>> Echos and a nonworking Accent SA, so the synth isn't of
>> immediate concern though it would be great to find a new one
>> considering my choices.  Finally, if any of you program in
>> QuickBASIC or do batch programming in DOS, please let me
>> know.  I'm on the Blind Computing and Computers mailing lists
>> but couldn't find anything else with much activity, so advice
>> on other lists would also be great, even if you can't answer
>> anything else.
>>
>>   Stars mean that something is essential and dbd means
>> determined by designer.  The optional section is idealistic
>> and not necessary.
>>
>> ===
>> Desktop Specifications
>>
>> Form Factor
>> small/able to fit on desk (mini tower if possible and regular
>> desktop if not)
>>
>>  Weight
>> whatever is reasonable for size and hardware included
>>
>> hard disk capacity
>> No more than 5gb and no less than 100mb if there's no
>> partition. Willing to accept a partition of a single  10gb
>> drive split into two5gb drives or two separate internal
>> drives but if you know how to makeDOS see more than 5gb I'll
>> accept a larger single drive. Nothing over 20gb is needed.
>>
>> Ram
>> *No more than 64mb and no les than 32mb.
>>
>> CPU Speed
>> No more than 500mhz and no less than 100mhz.
>>
>> Input
>> Enhanced 101 keyboard (already owned but a new one is fine so
>> long as it doesn't connect via usb port.)
>>
>> Media
>> *1 3.5 in. (1.44mb,, LS240 or HiFD 200mb) floppy
>> *1 5.25 in. high dencity floppy,
>> 1 cd rom
>>
>> Connectivity
>> *1 standard RS-232 9-pin male serial port
>> *1 bidirectional female parallel port (2 if possible)
>> *1 pcmcia slot
>> *1 modem jack with internal 56k modem
>> 1 ethernet jack
>> *1 ps/2 port
>> 1 line-in jack or microphone jack
>> *1 headphone/speaker jack
>> video ports dbd
>> 1 scsi slot
>> 1 usb 2.0 port
>>
>> Sound
>> *built-in DOS-compatible sound card
>>
>> Screen-related
>> resolution: dbd
>> graphics etc.: dbd
>>
>> OS
>> Latest stable release of Enhanced DR-DOS with all necessary
>> drivers and patches preferred. If not, then a machine with
>> FreeDOS installed. Links and installation instructions will
>> be provided.
>>
>> Ideal/optional
>> parts from Japan,, America, Europe etc. and not china,
>> Korea, Taiwan etc. (really appreciated) ability to burn with
>> cd rom if drive is included wireless card (WaveLAN and
>> ORiNOCO might work with DOS) metal casing 1  750mb zip drive
>> other essential hardware dbd
>>
>> Thanks for everything,
>> Eleni
>>
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> et.org/slerythema%40insightbb.com
>
>
>
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